the best seat in the house

This is one of my very favorite spaces in our home.

Reading Nook

It is a built-in cedar bench with much-needed storage.  I love built-ins of any kind because they are just so custom to each house. We left built-in shelves behind in our previous dining room and living room.  The only thing better than built-ins might be pocket doors.

Reading Nook

This is a special place where we like to curl up and read a book when time allows. In the winter, the baseboard heat pumps right up onto the seat making it even cozier.  Said baseboard is due for a coat of glossy white paint this spring.

Reading Nook

Over the holidays we added top down/bottom up shades. I was really committed to the idea of these shades so that we could always have the top down yielding a perfectly clear view. Our bed faces the window so it is spectacular to wake up to the sun peeking through the woods. We see the most beautiful early morning pink skies and evening lavender clouds.

And lately we’ve been waking up to snow dusting our holly trees.  It’s the little things.

Reading Nook

The valance is just a strand of starfish because we are “down the shore” after all and sometimes a little kitsch is necessary.  The salvaged piece above the window was a Brimfield honeymoon find.  I love all of the vivid colors.

Reading Nook (5 of 13)

Remember our garden rake belt hook?  Well, there it is.

  Reading Nook (3 of 13)

  That’s it.  The best seat in the house.

Reading Nook

Check out the rest of the salvage style room here.

my phinds

Hola!  I had a looong weekend celebrating the marriage of two of our close friends.  The bash was held at a gorgeous 19th century mansion that offered lots of old world charm.  I have a ton of pictures to review and then I will share a full recap on the wedding and how it was styled.  Stay tuned!

But today my friends, I’ve got some vintage eye candy.  Just a bit since I obviously was pre-occupied this weekend.  Last week I stopped in a local consignment shop that I have just been dying to get to.  A couple of weeks ago my blogging buddy Holly documented her trip to Phantastic Phinds and I knew I needed to get there stat.  I soon found out that the shop’s owner reads my blog so I was certainly destined to go.  (Hi Angela!)  No more delays.  I made it.  And it was totally worth it.

First let me tell you that the shop is so neatly curated chock full of vintage goodies from furniture to accessories.  I tend to expect consignment shops to be a mixed bag of housewares from different eras but Angela really does a- well a phantastic job selecting what she brings into the shop.  Only the best stuff is for sale.

Since putting the Christmas decorations away, I feel like our built in shelves are kind of bare so I picked up a few accessories to add to the vintage camera collection already on display.  My favorite find being this awesome glass flask.

It gets even better. There is a second screw top cap inside.

I also picked up a vintage yarn holder. I am no knitter so I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a yarn holder. It is like a delightful little metal cage that adds some depth to the shelf.

We’ve been discussing lighting for the area around the built ins in the living room. At the last-minute I added a desk lamp to my loot. The price was right so I figured I’d give it a shot. Unfortunately, I don’t think it fits the space mostly because it is too big so the hunt continues for lighting. We’ve got a plan B. As for the lamp’s future, I’m certain I will find another use for it…perhaps at my sewing desk (whenever I start sewing).

Sooo the bookshelves still need some tweaking but I think we’re onto something with the vintage camera collection, family photos, old books and our newest vintage accessories.  I love it when a plan comes together.

I also had a great time meeting and shopping with another reader, Jennie from Love ‘n Fresh Flowers. She is a local floral extradonairre bringing the Philly area it’s first flower CSA. How cool is that?

A lot of shout outs today, huh?

Linking to:
Her Library Adventures
Apron Thrift Girl

pop art

Merry! Merry!  Are you ready for the big guy to visit?  We are all set over here!

I’ve got just one last Christmas DIY project to share. In fact, it is not really Christmasy at all but coordinates with my choice of decor this season.

Tell me the truth, are you sick of the vintage sheet music and book pages that are all over the place these days? I might be getting close but I’m still fully embracing the trend…for now.

I was inspired to make a paper mache bowl after I saw one in the pages of BHG’s DIY magazine last month.  I thought it looked fun and pretty easy.  I was right.  Here’s what you need…

  • Paper of your choice.  It doesn’t have to be sheet music.  It could be scrapbook paper, newspaper or perhaps something meaningful you want to preserve but don’t mind if it takes on a new form – like children’s schoolwork.
  • Mod Podge or glue and water solution.
  • A bowl to use as a template.
  • Saran wrap.

Cover the bowl in saran wrap.

Then apply pieces of paper to the saran wrapped bowl with the mod podge.  I used a sponge applicator.  Overlap as necessary. Once you’ve covered the whole bowl with paper. Coat the now “paper bowl” with more mod podge to create a shellac and seal it all in.  Let it dry. 

 The paper will harden and take on the shape of the bowl.  You can separate it from the saran wrap.  I found that one layer of paper wasn’t enough though.  See how thin it is?

Flip the bowl template over and cover with the saran wrap.  Apply more paper with mod podge as above.  Apply as many layers as you want just let it dry in between.

Once it is all dry, trim any paper corners that are poking out of the top of the bowl.  Easy, right?  This would be a fun project to do with kids too.

Go ahead and display it however you like!  Of course, I chose some vintage ornaments to deck out the paper mache bowl.

I feel the need to disclose that 2 Shiny Brites were broken in the making of this post…I know. It was terrifying to take 2 vintage ornaments out of circulation.  Shiny Brite lovers everywhere mourn.

Linking to:

Saved by Suzy

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